Breaking down five things to keep an eye on in tomorrow's NCAA quarterfinal between Maryland and Notre Dame
1. Terps in transition: Notre Dame is not a particularly vulnerable team in settled defensive situations. Transition is another matter, and it happens to be Maryland's strength. If the Terps can get both Brian Farrell and Jesse Bernhardt scooping-and-running with some level of consistency, it's going to be difficult for the Fighting Irish to keep up.
2. The Great Wall of South Bend: Notre Dame's great equalizer is goalie Scott Rodgers, a large yet agile human being the Fighting Irish park in the crease. Maryland can't bank on scoring more than 10 goals or so --- it dropped only seven on Notre Dame in an NCAA tournament win last year --- and Rodgers' deft play is the reason why.
3. Midfield mania: This is a fascinating qualitative-vs.-quantitative matchup. The Fighting Irish's offense flows out of its midfield. David Earl scored five goals in last week's upset of Princeton, and both Grant Krebs and Zach Brenneman are particularly dangerous shooters from outside. Maryland's first midfield isn't as scary, but the Terps go four lines deep and won't be nearly as tired late in the game --- especially if they can establish a quicker tempo. Weather watchers take note: Tomorrow's forecast in Princeton is partly cloudy with a high of 76, not the worst news for Notre Dame.
4. Playing the angles: Maryland's smarts in shooting is going to go a long way to securing a victory. Coach Dave Cottle again reiterated his usual mantra that a 30 percent shooting day is crucial, and it'll be tough to reach that with Rodgers going about his business. The Terps might have to take some bad-angle shots that usually aren't the greatest ideas, but should avoid attempts from 12 yards out. Their chances of making those? "Good luck," Cottle groaned.
5. Final 15. The attrition factor would seem to favor Maryland, but that might not matter if the Terps enter the fourth quarter down a few goals. A close game probably favors Notre Dame, so making the final 15 minutes as close to meaningless as possible is important for Maryland. If the Terps enter the fourth with a lead of three goals or more, they're probably headed back to Baltimore for the final four.
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